


the weight of water

by joshllyman



Series: sportsfest 2020 fills [17]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman
Summary: Koutarou wakes up with hope in his heart on rainy days.The patter of drops against the roof of the cabin he shares with Tetsurou always causes him to rise early, to throw on a shirt and step outside into the storm. Tetsurou follows not long after, wraps his arms around Koutarou’s waist, and together they look toward the horizon.Keiji doesn’t always come. But when he does, it’s always when it’s raining.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: sportsfest 2020 fills [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1789072
Comments: 10
Kudos: 59





	the weight of water

**Author's Note:**

> sportsfest fill: [ prompt here ](https://sportsfest.dreamwidth.org/27747.html?thread=3114083#cmt3114083)

Koutarou wakes up with hope in his heart on rainy days.

The patter of drops against the roof of the cabin he shares with Tetsurou always causes him to rise early, to throw on a shirt and step outside into the storm. Tetsurou follows not long after, wraps his arms around Koutarou’s waist, and together they look toward the horizon. 

Keiji doesn’t always come. But when he does, it’s always when it’s raining.

Koutarou would like to stand there and watch all day, but after a while Tetsurou tugs him gently back into the house. He keeps watch by the window while Tetsurou makes breakfast. He barely tastes the food he consumes because his eyes are still trained on the ocean. Tetsurou goes to his desk to write, and still Koutarou waits, watching carefully.

After a while, the rain lets up. When the sun begins to peak out, weak rays through gray clouds, Koutarou’s heart sinks.

Tetsurou pulls him over to the loveseat and holds him closely, murmuring quiet words in his ear. Koutarou sinks back into his embrace and tries not to feel like he’s drowning, but it’s all too easy to picture the waves crashing over him.

\---

The summers are hard, because it rains most days. The afternoons drag on, thunder rolling overhead, and Koutarou tries hard to focus on the work in front of him, tries not to let his attention wander. Inevitably it does, and he gazes out over the glistening sea. It always looks closer to black than blue during these summer storms, and it hurts his heart in a way he can’t explain. 

After dinner, he and Tetsurou go out and walk along the shore. They’ve lived here too long to still collect shells, but Koutarou points out the ones he thinks are the most beautiful. And if there’s still a sprinkle falling against their skin, they look out to the ocean. Koutarou ditches his shoes and walks in the water, feeling the motion of the waves against the soles of his feet and pretending it’s Keiji’s hands against his skin. 

When he looks up, Tetsurou is clutching the scale that hangs against his chest and squinting into the distance. They stand silently, waiting, watching. 

They lace their hands together for as long as it’s still raining.

But Keiji doesn’t come then, either.

\---

A late summer morning finds Koutarou wrapped around Tetsurou, lazily running his hands over every inch of his lover’s skin and cataloguing each reaction in his mind. Tetsurou’s quiet laughter is still hanging in the air over them when there’s a knock at the door. 

They sit up in near unison; they hadn’t noticed the symphony of raindrops against the roof.

Koutarou doesn’t bother dressing before he goes to the door, because there’s only one person it could be. Keiji looks tired, but when he sees Koutarou and Tetsurou, he gives them a small smile. Koutarou cuts off his apologies by wrapping his arms around him, inhaling the scent of saltwater on his skin. 

The bed is crowded with three, but that has never stopped them before.

After, Koutarou kisses the junction of Keiji’s jaw and neck, slipping his tongue out and tasting the sea. He knows better than to ask the questions that threaten to tumble past his lips. It is fruitless to inquire about Keiji’s whereabouts, what kept him, when he will return. Each time a question forms in his mind, he expresses it in kisses against Keiji’s porcelain skin. He falls asleep with Keiji running his long fingers through his hair.

When he wakes, Keiji and Tetsurou have moved to the loveseat and are speaking in soft tones with their heads pressed together. Tetsurou reaches up and pushes a strand of Keiji’s hair out of his face. Keiji catches his wrist, bringing it to his lips, and Koutarou can see the way his fingernails are lengthening and turning greenish-blue. He turns to see blue sky in the distance.

Koutarou goes to them, falling to his knees in front of Keiji. He takes Keiji’s monstrous hands and kisses the scales that have begun to show under his skin. With each one, he prays.

_ Stay. Stay. Stay. _

Keiji steals his hand away to cradle Koutarou’s cheek. In his eyes he holds the promise he always does; he’ll return, someday. Tomorrow, perhaps. Next week. Next month. He will return. 

Koutarou closes the door behind him, and when Tetsurou comes to hold him, they are both crying.

\---

“What’s it like?” Koutarou asked once. “The ocean?”

Keiji smiled. “Very much like what you’d expect. Dark and cold. Lonely.”

“But you’re always so warm when I touch you,” Koutarou said.

Tetsurou was on the other side of Keiji, on his back with his eyes looking up toward the ceiling. Absentmindedly he fingered the pendant against his chest. 

“You keep me warm,” Keiji said. “Both of you.”

Koutarou traced a heart on Keiji’s stomach. “Is that why you come back?”

Tetsurou turned his head toward them. Keiji closed his eyes. 

“That’s why I come back.”

**Author's Note:**

> title from "make this go on forever" by snow patrol  
> socials at joshllyman.carrd.co


End file.
